Not Happy Campers

Road Trip to Love #1

by Ash Keller

The only thing worse than being stuck in an RV with your enemy? Having to pretend you're madly in love.

Lance Blakeman is an up-and-coming literary agent with a chance to represent the biggest horror writer since Stephen King. Unfortunately, the client doesn't want to work with a bachelor. Lance needs a fiancée—fast.

Lainey Fredrickson is a struggling artist making ends meet by waitressing at a local diner. Or, she had been, until pretty boy Lance got her fired for accidentally spilling a beer on him. The way he carried on, you'd think she had deliberately doused him with radioactive waste. Now, she has exactly $4.23 to her name—not enough for an iced latte, let alone rent.

When Lance offers Lainey cash to pose as his fiancée, she can't afford to say no, even if it means spending a week in a cramped RV with him. But can they fool the client without fooling themselves? There's a fine line between love and hate. And with kisses this sweet, the line is bound to get blurred.

Not Happy Campers is a laugh-out-loud funny, clean romantic comedy with sizzling chemistry, witty banter, and spine-tingling kisses. If you love a good enemies to lovers or fake relationship story that ends with happy ever after, this book is for you!

Genres: Romance, Contemporary, Enemies To Lovers, Fiction, Fake Dating, Contemporary Romance, Clean Romance

165 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 21, 2021

About the author

Ash Keller writes clean contemporary romance and romantic comedies. Her books are sweet on heat but big on heart. She lives in the rolling hills of Kentucky with her wonderful husband, three mischievous cats, and a couple of bossy backyard chickens that peck on the door to demand treats. For the latest news and exclusive content, subscribe to her newsletter.

Reviews

[Kremena Koleva · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not Happy Campers се оказа извънредно мила, забавна и отпускаща книжка! Приятна, много приятна изненада! На нейните 146 страници открих всичките си любими неща наведнъж. Кемпер, къмпинг сред тишината на гъста гора, езеро с кристални води, възможност за отдих далеч, далеч от претъпкания град и много забавни каламбури със симпатични герои и с дебеличко късокрако кученце. Потопих се в мястото и в атмосферата на книгата. Спомних си за моите моменти сред природата и си пожелах пак да мога да бъда навън , на свобода , с мили на сърцето ми хора. Онова, което отново разбрах от Not Happy Campers беше, че първото впечатление не винаги определя какви са хората. Общуването може да донесе изненада. А ако изненадата е приятна...то тогава тя е още по - голяма !....

[Linda Langford · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute and funny quick hour’s read.

[Elle G. Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not Happy Campers by Ash Keller is a fun, clean romcom! There are enemy vibes at the beginning of the novel as our heroine DESPISES the hero because he got her fired from a job, but that quickly changes when the two are forced to take a vacation together in an RV. Why? He needed a fake girlfriend of course! These two were absolutely adorable together and I loved how the author gave the Corgi some spotlight! I laughed, I fell in love, and enjoyed the protectiveness of our hero. All around, this is a super cute book and I recommend it to closed door romcom fans!

𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗙𝗘𝗖𝗧 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗙𝗔𝗡𝗦 𝗢𝗙:
• Closed Door Romcoms
• Fake relationship romcoms
• Enemies-to-lovers

𝗠𝗬 𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
𝗛𝗘𝗔𝗧: Kissing only.

[Oceana Reads Co. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Had a really strong start but I found once they got to the RV part, the pacing felt off and took me out of the story.

Despite this being a fake engagement story, I still felt like their relationship went too fast in terms of the “being in love” part after a week.

There were some funny moments and the beginning really was the best, but I found myself checked out by the end.

There was no language and only kissing that was mildly described.

[Thisbe {Praise God!} · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not Happy Campers by Ash Keller

14+

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Romance: Few kisses, few innuendoes.

Violence: None.

Cursing: None that I remember.

"She released a huff of air. "I really don't like you." To her amazement, he grinned. "We've progressed from hatred to dislike in under three hours. Admit it, I'm growing on you."

☕Thoughts! ☕
This was such a hilarious read! I was laughing majority of the time! I absolutely LOVED this!
Fake dating isn't normally my favorite trope, but I fell for this story!
Chonk (Lainey's dog) was so funny! He made the story!
I think they almost immediately started feeling something for each other but they both didn't want
to let their guard down. Not only was this fake dating it was fake engagement LOL.

“If you keep pretending to be engaged, you may even accidentally fall in love."

I thought it was so funny how Annie could already tell they were faking it! She lokey scared me when she slashed their tires! 🫢Loll
That scene where Lance was putting medicine on Lainey's bug bites was SO HOT!! Me in background "KISS KISS KISS".
I was so sad during the parts where Lance kept pulling back and thinking Lainey didn't like him! When she was so sad cause she thought HE DIDN'T LIKE HER!
LIKE SHE WANTS YOU TO KISS HER! STOP PULLING BACKKK!!
At the end of the trip, I just wanted to scream "EXPRESS Y'ALLS FEELINGS"!!

"He wanted her to know that the week had meant so much to him. That she had meant so much to him. Maybe he was even ready to start a relationship now. With her."

Overall, I loved how they finally got together and shared their feelings! Also, the ending was so cute! I'm not spoiling so you've got to find out yourself! This cover is actually so cute!
(I didn't like the innuendo but whatever LOL)
(Sorry for yelling so much!😂😂)

"Lance tossed the empty cup to the floor and crossed the distance between them in two strides. Grasping her face in his hands, he kissed her. His lips tasted like coffee. Coffee and Lance. Her favorite things."


Pre-Read:
"Buddy reading this with lovely Eve!!"

[emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

The dog tho

[Sophia · Rating 1 out of 5]

1.5* stars only for the funny quotes and the cool premise. Now let's see someone actually write this plot better and just at a slightly slower pace because WHY IS THIS BOOK SO FAST PACED???? It really does feel like this author was on a time crunch to write a book as fast as possible whether it's good or not and to create a romance, no matter if it's awful or not. It's crazy how fast the romance moves, how fast the characters fall in love. There's no time for budding chemistry between Lance and Lainey because they start smooching at page 60. Lainey's another immature, mood-swing-having quirky female main characters. She is horrible. Lance exists. He's not especially good or bad. Im sooooo glad that this book was short though because I hated reading about these people.

[Gina Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

My heart went pitter patter for this book. Loved the characters and fell madly in love with the dog, a chubby lazy corgi. How fun was this book! Dare I say this was my fav rom com of the year? Yes. Yes I do say. Just adorable. Such a good story… I highly recommend. It’s a short read, but you will absolutely adore the characters and their “camping” trip. AND…. There is a bonus… Lola’s Scrapbook which contains pictures of Chonk, the dog and of course our fav characters!

[Leela :) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars
this was super cute and such a quick read
read in like 2 hours
when the main characters don't piss you off 😍😍😍

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wow, am I disappointed. I literally adored this book. The romance was soooo cute! UNTIL THE EPILOGUE. Okay they didn’t actually do anything, but like…I’m quoting this so that anyone who isn’t sure if it’s clean or not can judge by this…

⚠️⚠️⚠️READ AT YOUR OWN RISK⚠️⚠️⚠️

“Sex? Check.”

“—and get her out of that dress. And, as it happened, make a baby.”

“You can’t even think about that dress without getting
frisky.’’

😜warning over😜

Am I immature when it comes to this topic? Yep. Do I find it necessary in books? NOPE. LEAVE IT OUT HUNNY. So yeah, bc of that: 2 stars.

[Chloe · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the perfect read while I sat in a hospital waiting room for hours. Read this from start to finish 🤣

Lainey is having a bad day. Fired from her job and down to get last dollar, she needs money, stat. Lance is having a bad day. To impress his new potential client, he may have mentioned having a fiancèe. Now he needs to find one, stat.

🏕 Fake engagement
🏕 Enemies to friends to lovers
🏕 Forced proximity

"We've progressed from hatred to dislike in under 3 hours. Admit it, I'm growing on you."

My verdict: It was funny and sweet, with a cute dog! Say less!

[Dikshya Pattnaik · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ash Keller and her way of creating hilarious meet-cutes are beyond anything else.

"I'll pay you."
"How much?"
"One hundred dollars."
"Three hundred."
"One twenty-five."
"Three hundred."
" That's not how negotiating works." 😆


Ah the introduction to each character in her novellas are super unique, fun and laugh-out-loud!
This was my 3rd novella by her & i can't wait to read more.

[eve b · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely LOVED this book. It was kind of a random read because I picked it off of someone’s TBR so i honestly didn’t know how it would turn out. Approved 100% 👏🏻👏🏻
Guys…I was laughing in the first chapter…if that’s not a good sign, I don’t know what is😂

𝑳𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆: Ngl…boy was kind of a snob. He had a rotten attitude too. THEN…he met Lainey. I got to know his character and LET ME TELL YOU….🤌🏻🤌🏻🫰🏻👌🏻 so sweet. The grumpiness to his character made it all the better.
Don’t let anyone tell you I told you this but….he really is just a cat in a tiger suit. He tries to be intimidating and not let anyone see who he truly is, but once you get the slightest glance at his true self, there is no going back🤭
Side note…the way he pretends to not like Chonk…hehe😏 don’t let him fool you. He’s a sucker for that little ole pup.

𝑳𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒚: HER PERSONALITY. 𝓔𝙭𝕢𝕦𝗶𝕤𝗶𝕥𝗲. It was just perfect🫰🏻🫰🏻🤌🏻 she definitely held the reigns in the “relationship” 😂
Somehow, she knew how to get her way without even trying. Favor just seemed to be on her side.
The way she confidently strides into the roll of fake fiancé. She’s a natural no doubt. It’s like she’s actually in love with the dude.
(oh wait….she is)
DON’T FORGET THE BANTER. It was the best part of the book! 👌🏻🤭

GUYS. Their first kiss?!? Yes please. It was absolutely perfect in every way….well…it had the potential to be anyway…
(Iykyk)

FAVE QUOTES 👇🏼

𝚂𝚑𝚎 𝚛𝚎𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚎𝚍 𝚊 𝚑𝚞𝚏𝚏 𝚘𝚏 𝚊𝚒𝚛. "𝙸 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚍𝚘𝚗'𝚝 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞." 𝚃𝚘 𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚊𝚖𝚊𝚣𝚎𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝, 𝚑𝚎 𝚐𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚗𝚎𝚍. "𝚆𝚎'𝚟𝚎 𝚙𝚛𝚘𝚐𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚜𝚎𝚍 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚑𝚊𝚝𝚛𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚍𝚒𝚜𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚒𝚗 𝚞𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚛𝚎𝚎 𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚛𝚜. 𝙰𝚍𝚖𝚒𝚝 𝚒𝚝, 𝙸'𝚖 𝚐𝚛𝚘𝚠𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚘𝚗 𝚢𝚘𝚞."

𝙻𝚊𝚒𝚗𝚎𝚢 𝚠𝚘𝚔𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚍 𝚘𝚏 𝙻𝚊𝚗𝚌𝚎'𝚜 𝚟𝚘𝚒𝚌𝚎. "𝙰𝚛𝚎 𝚠𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎?"  "𝙽𝚘𝚝 𝚢𝚎𝚝, 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚠𝚎'𝚛𝚎 𝚌𝚕𝚘𝚜𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚒𝚗. 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚁𝚅 𝚗𝚎𝚎𝚍𝚜 𝚐𝚊𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝙸 𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚖𝚎𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚋𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚝 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚞𝚜𝚎 𝚊 𝚋𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚔." 𝙻𝚊𝚒𝚗𝚎𝚢 𝚜𝚝𝚛𝚎𝚝𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚍. "𝙳𝚘𝚗'𝚝 𝚋𝚎 𝚜𝚘 𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚍 𝚘𝚗 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛𝚜𝚎𝚕𝚏. 𝚈𝚘𝚞'𝚛𝚎 𝚊 𝚋𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚝, 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝙸'𝚟𝚎 𝚜𝚖𝚎𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚍 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚜𝚎."

"𝙸 𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚐𝚒𝚟𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐, 𝚝𝚘𝚘." "𝙼𝚘𝚛𝚎 𝚔𝚒𝚜𝚜𝚒𝚗𝚐?" 𝙷𝚒𝚜 𝚟𝚘𝚒𝚌𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚑𝚘𝚙𝚎𝚏𝚞𝚕.𝚂𝚑𝚎 𝚕𝚊𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚎𝚍. "𝙸 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚐𝚘𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚘 𝚜𝚊𝚢 𝚖𝚢 𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚝." 𝚆𝚛𝚊𝚙𝚙𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚊𝚛𝚖𝚜 𝚊𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚍 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚗𝚎𝚌𝚔, 𝚜𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚘𝚍 𝚘𝚗 𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚒𝚙𝚝𝚘𝚎𝚜, 𝚋𝚛𝚞𝚜𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚕𝚒𝚙𝚜 𝚕𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚕𝚢 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚜. "𝙻𝚞𝚌𝚔𝚒𝚕𝚢 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚢𝚘𝚞, 𝚒𝚝 𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚙𝚎𝚗𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚊 𝚕𝚒𝚏𝚎𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎 𝚜𝚞𝚙𝚙𝚕𝚢 𝚘𝚏 𝚔𝚒𝚜𝚜𝚒𝚗𝚐."

Over all this was a funny, light, sweet read.

Spice—> just kissing.
(there were a few suggestions towards intimacy)
Cursing—> no


Buddy read this with my gorgeous bestie, Thisbe❤️❤️🫶🏻

[Veronica Jackson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Super cute and quick read!
I really enjoyed both characters and their chemistry building was very well paced, especially for a book under 200 pages.

[Cheri Sypolt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a cute little book. It was so easy to fly by and love the story idea especially with a dog!

[Abigail · Rating 3 out of 5]

For starters, I absolutely loved this little novella. It was giving enemies to lovers, and a insta love vibe that I actually really enjoyed. Top tier points for crazy pregnant lady (iykyk), cause I actually laughed so hard I cried. Lance def comes off in the beginning as a stuck up asshole, but really it was just a simple misunderstanding and he would have done anything for Lainey.

What I didn’t appreciate was how fast the book was. I just wanted it to keep going 😭 The epilogue was just a little too fast paced for me as well, I felt like we jumped ahead with very little information as to how we got there.

Otherwise, a cute short read.

[Asheley T. · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5/5

A short read at well under 200 pages. I liked the bones of this story and I ADORE the Corgi. What a cutie! I liked how Lainey and Vance went RV camping. But the story's short length prevented me from feeling any tension or chemistry whatsoever from this couple, which is my favorite part of any romance. It worked just fine as a palette cleanser between heftier reads, but I really wanted a romance that would make me swoon and this just was not it.

[Hayley · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s a cute quick book! It feels like it was rushed. I enjoyed it nevertheless

[Tayler Bell · Rating 3 out of 5]

a super quick read thanks to stuff your kindle day! this was really cute <3

[roksanakapturska · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5/5 ⭐️

cały czas dobrze się bawiłam, ale pod koniec poszło to za szybko i zakończenie totalnie bez sensu 😭

[Jami · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very Sweet!

[Brittany · Rating 3 out of 5]

cute romance and a quick read. I’m sure I’ll pick up book 2! There wasn’t much character development imo, but I enjoyed their story. (Enemies to lovers + fake dating)

[JAMES CHARLTON · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute love ❤ story

I enjoyed every part of this book. It held my interest, especially the part about Chung the dog and Annie.
I would recommend this book to all my friends.

[Leslie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute, clean, and funny rom-com. The main characters are both quirky and lovable. Lance doesn't think he has room in his life for a relationship, but when they end up on a road trip together, they quickly bond despite their terrible first meeting and Lainey's bad impression of Lance. Perfect for when you want a lighthearted, easy read.

[Agnes Ravn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute little romcom. Very corny and quirky, but quite fun. 3,5 stars⭐️

[Sierra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Strangers

Reader’s Notes:

– this is part of a series but read as a stand-alone

– this is told from Lainey and Lance’s points of view

Review:

This was sooo funny! Between Lainey hating Lance, Annie and the dog’s antics, and mixed-up feelings it was a really entertaining read from start to finish. I loved how Lainey’s dog enjoyed spending time with Lance and that Lance took very good care of him even though he was not happy Lainey brought the dog at first. I loved that Lainey is an artist and Lance and his client liked her art. I enjoyed Annie knowing that the relationship was fake but that she saw the potential for more between Lainey and Lance even though the two of them couldn’t see past their own ‘do they/don’t they’ thoughts. And of course when Annie took it into her own hands to give that potential a chance to happen between the two of them…word to the wise, don’t let a pregnant lady have a knife…

Lainey is broke and was just fired from her job for another accident she caused. But she is putting the blame on the guy who complained to her boss to make herself feel better about it. Now she is looking for a new job and having no success. Until she runs into the guy who got her fired on the street and her offers her a deal.

Lance is not happy to see the clumsy waitress again, but she’s the only woman available to help him in the next few hours. So he takes a leap and asks her to pretend to be his fiancé for a lunch meeting with a new potential client. After a lot of seemingly random purchases and a transfer of money to her account, Lainey agrees and accompanies him.

Neither of them expected to see each other again after this meeting, but when the client invites them to join him and his wife on a camping trip things get a little messy. Lance opens his mouth and agrees that they will join them, without consulting Lainey first. Now he’ll not only have to pay her more to keep up their ruse, but he’ll also have to spend more time with her in a cramped space…and with whatever she chooses to bring with her. No matter how many times he says no to something, Lainey is a force to be reckoned with and won’t take no for an answer.

But as they spend more time together, both Lainey and Lance are feeling completely different about each other than they first started. There’s a fine line between love and hate and they may have just crossed it, but will they stay that way or will the lie of their relationship break the hope they have?

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

●Not Happy Campers by Ash Keller●

This was such an adorable romantic comedy filled with hilarious moments and a heartwarming romance!

Whilst the book was short and I wished it was longer, it truly was amazing. I loved the short lived enemies to lovers vibes combined with the forced proximity, it was intertwined into the story so well. The writing was pretty simple, and the storyline was straightforward with the twists being a predicable, however that being said, I actually didn't mind it because it made this book an easy but sweet read.

The main characters Lainey and Lance were absolute goofballs, their interactions were amusing and I loved the way they grew to like each other in a short time. They balance each other out really well despite both being hesitant in the relationship area, and I think Lainey's corgi Chonk had a massive role in their romance, he's such a matchmaker. Chonk stole the book for me!

The book wrapped up pretty well and has such a fluffy and adorable epilogue that's sure to make you smile. Overall, whilst this wasn't an absolute heart wrencher, it still has all the romantic comedy vibes!

4/5 🌟

[Caitlyn Santi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved every minute of this utterly delightful story! I adored book one in this series, Christmas Crasher, and I was super excited to find out that Lola’s brother Lance was getting a story! This book totally exceeded my expectations, it is fantastic! Lance and Lainey were great characters, and it was such fun to watch their romance bloom! I also loved Lainey’s corgi, Chonk, he was so fun and his presence added so much to the story! I also loved the camping aspect of the story, oh such fun!
I love this author’s writing style and voice, her books never fail to make me laugh and put a smile on my face!
I’ve read all but one of Ash Keller’s books, and loved them all, but in my opinion Not Happy Campers is her best book yet! I can’t wait to read the next book in the series!
Not Happy Campers is a super fun story that I most highly recommend!


I received an ebook copy of this book from the author. My review was not influenced in any way. All thoughts and opinions are one hundred percent my own.

[Rosh Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did really enjoy this short story and loved the few characters we did get to meet along the way!

However, with all short stories, there are issues that come with short length such as rushed scenes, lack of tension building and I love yous come too fast. Endings are rushed and all problems magically fixed. This book was no exception unfortunately and why it lost 2 stars.

Regardless of this, I read this In a day it was super cute and I loved the dreamy atmosphere of the RV Park with magical Lake. I also adored chonk what an adorable lazy dog who was honestly my favourite character in the book.

I really like Annie and Paul too, specifically Annie and her knife slashing ways and I am excited to see the third book in the series is of them!

I do reccomend reading this, just don't expect amazing things.

[W · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another excellent story from an outstanding author!!

Enjoy this laugh-out-loud funny rom-com from the superb Ms.Keller. From the first page to the last, the escapades of Lance and his hired fake fiancée Lainey will have you holding your sides with laughter. Shreik in terror over Paul Arken's latest horror book turned blockbuster movie, "Rats Invade Queens." Find out the REAL story behind the hit animated series "Traitor Tater and the Spuds of Deceit"! Dance in excitement waiting for the release of Lainey's picturebook about her aging corgi, "The Chronicles of Chonk." And sigh over the swoony kisses shared by Lance and Lainey as they share their very own HEA.

I received an ARC copy of this story from the author via BookFunnel and voluntarily chose to share my review.